Working over in marketing for the Whitecaps, it’s not often you get to be involved in team signings and roster moves. Now, I’m not suggesting I had any major involvement, but this is probably the closest level of influence I’m going to get.

You see, Friday morning I arrived at the office to learn that Jeff Parke was on his way in to Vancouver. We felt he could be a key signing for the club and really strengthen the back four. He and his wife were set to arrive in the afternoon and we had put them up in a downtown hotel for the next several days. As is customary with these types of situations, you want to ensure the player has a positive experience with the club and the city. It’s sort of a courting game, per se. So with the Juno Awards in Vancouver that weekend, we thought it would be a great event for Jeff and his wife to attend and get a taste of the city.

But how were we ever to get tickets to the main events, especially on the same day that it was all to kick off? Well, that’s where I stepped in. With my relationships at various radio stations, I knew they would be the best source to hit. It was a little bit of a long shot, however, as most people give out their passes long before the day-of. But I explained the situation to my wonderful colleague at CFox and sure enough, she couriered me off some concert tickets and VIP passes!

So when I found out we actually signed Jeff last night, a little piece of me claimed victory. It was a fairly minor and possibly inconsequential element of the process, but hey, maybe it did play a factor. I’ll continue to think so until someone tells me otherwise!